Uninsured, businesses await effects of health care ruling

Curtis Beeney probably has one of the most basic health care plans in the country. Single and childless, Beeney, 30, lost health insurance coverage when he was laid off from his job last year.

Pam Adams

Curtis Beeney probably has one of the most basic health care plans in the country.

"I try not to get sick," the Pekin man said.

Single and childless, Beeney, 30, lost health insurance coverage when he was laid off from his job last year.

The U.S. Supreme Court just improved Beeney's odds of obtaining health care coverage eventually, not to mention some 40 million more uninsured citizens, including about 1.3 million Illinoisans.

For now, Thursday's ruling by the court maintains almost all of the Affordable Care Act, including its most popular aspects, such as preventing insurers from excluding people with pre-existing conditions and allowing children to remain on their parents' insurance until they're 26. But it also opens up new avenues of controversy for a law that has been controversial from the start.

As a result of the decision, the Catholic Diocese of Peoria will either file a lawsuit or join other plaintiffs in lawsuits challenging a provision in the act that requires all employers' insurance coverage to provide contraceptives free of charge to employees.

The Roman Catholic Church maintains both the law and an attempted compromise by President Barack Obama's administration violate religious freedom.

Diocese spokeswoman Patricia Gibson said the court's decision was a "disappointment." Had the law been overturned, the issue of covering contraceptives, abortion-inducing drugs and sterilizations would have been moot.

"Because it was upheld, Bishop Jenky feels he has no choice but to file our own lawsuit," Gibson said.

The bishop also released a statement calling for Catholics to continue rallying and praying in "Fortnight of Freedom" observances, which end July 4.

Tea Party supporters, among the most outspoken opponents of what has become known as Obamacare, are gearing up to continue fighting the law, said Sheila Devall, lead organizer for Peoria Area Tea Party. The next battleground is the November elections.

Some of the law's most ardent supporters, and even the not-so-ardent, are pushing harder for Illinois to establish a health insurance exchange.

Jim Duffett, of Campaign for Better Health Care, has been predicting for weeks the law would be upheld. He took the decision as an opportunity to lambast Illinois lawmakers for impeding development of the exchange process and urged Gov. Pat Quinn, once again, to issue an executive order to establish a state exchange.

The exchanges, sort of a one-stop online shopping site for health insurance, are a key aspect of the law's insurance reforms, cost-control measures, and increasing affordability and access to health care.

If Quinn doesn't take action, Duffett said, Illinois could end up in a federal exchange, which might not be as beneficial for consumers or controlling costs.

Mike Tate, CEO of Independent Insurance Agents of Illinois, said delays in establishing an exchange affects agents, as well as health care consumers.

"It's important to get something going," Tate said, even though his organization is concerned about agents leaving the business and potential loss of commissions for agents who remain.

"But even with exchanges, buying health insurance isn't like buying an airline ticket on the Internet," Tate said. "People will still look for expertise to navigate the process."

Quinn did seem to allay fears expressed by some health care providers about another contested aspect of the Affordable Care Act - the law's expansion of Medicaid coverage for the poor and disabled.

Justices left states with the option of expanding Medicaid coverage and receiving extra federal money to do so, or not expanding Medicaid, but not losing any of the federal money they already receive for the program.

After the ruling was announced, Farrell Davies, CEO of Heartland Community Health Centers, and Steve Hall, a senior vice president of Pekin Hospital, were both concerned the state could opt out of the expansion, leaving far fewer people with access to health care coverage and far less in reimbursements for hospitals that care for the poor. However, Quinn told The Associated Press expanding Medicaid is wise policy.

Under the expansion, about 500,000 Illinoisans, including many childless adults like Beeney, would have better chances of becoming eligible for Medicaid.

While Beeney doesn't know how much the health care law will improve his chances of getting health care insurance, Laura Eschelbach's gamble has paid off, so far.

Her plans to retire Friday hinged on whether the Supreme Court upheld the law. The court did, leaving her free to retire at age 62 without worrying about how she and her husband would find and afford insurance because of his pre-existing condition. Insurers in the exchange must offer coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.

The way they've figured it, he'll extend his insurance coverage through COBRA. By the time his COBRA coverage expires in 18 months, or January 2014, Eschelbach is gambling Illinois' health care exchange will be up and running.

Pam Adams can be reached at 686-3245 or padams@pjstar.com. Follow her on Twitter @padamspam.

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